


Finish What We Started

by Notevenwinded



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: First Kiss, Gift Fic, M/M, Post Fear Itself, SteveTonyFest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2013-06-13
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/841906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notevenwinded/pseuds/Notevenwinded
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony always questioned his feelings about the famous star spangled Captain, and after the Siege of Asgard and their promise to rebuild the world, he decided to rebuild one more thing; his relationship with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finish What We Started

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainbow_marbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbow_marbles/gifts).



> This ia a gift for Mindlessfallout on tumblr for the SteveTony Fest gift exchange! It's set right after the events of Fear Itself, and I hope that you like it!

Sometimes Tony asked himself; how did they come so far? Of course he was talking about himself, Tony Stark, and his multi-layered, complicated relationship with Captain America. It has been well over a decade, and yet, so many events changed their life, starting from that unforgettable day when the Avengers found the lost Captain froze in ice.

It was so strange and Tony could have sworn that the moment that his bright blue eyes under his helmet met the soldier’s frozen, beautiful face, he knew that this man was going to mean a lot more to him that he ever thought he would. When he woke up and was talked through everything that had happened during his ‘sleep’, after his initial fight with the Avengers, Tony sat by him and explained even more, even inviting him to Tony Stark’s jet to ‘show him the wonders of the modern world’. Spending just a day with Steve Rogers, not just Captain America made him realise years later, when he was standing next to Carol Danvers in his close friend’s funeral, his wet from the rain hair covering his eyes, that, the day he met Steve, that was the best day of his entire life.

Of course, it was far too late for Steve to know that, not when Tony made sure that he was returned back to the depths of the ocean where they first found him along with Janet and Hank, the only other team members available for that small ‘ceremony’. It wasn’t until he uttered those words himself that he realised that maybe after all, what he felt about Steve wasn’t just respect and admiration. During his time as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D he would spend hours locked in his office, thinking about everything that happened, reading the letter that Steve left for him over and over again. How could this happen? It wasn’t part of the plan, he was a futurist and yet he didn’t see Steve’s death happening. No, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, that was clear from the start. And yet, he had to deal with it, waking up from vivid nightmares, Steve’s chest wound right in front of him, or the way he looked at him when he was pinned down on the ground, shield raised, ready to hit him. He would see him in his sleep, he could feel Steve grabbing him, Tony would apologise and then he would just realise that.. this was all a dream. Even Maria Hill was concerned; Tony was breaking down and despite his efforts, it was plain to see. Still, he had to stand up and be Iron Man, especially with the rest of the public, not to mentions his former team, not being big fans of him anymore.

Despite all, Steve was indeed back. He came back from the land of the dead, but more technically, he had never been there. Tony and the team was trying so hard to defend their name, and to see rising Norman Osborn rising in power just before his eyes, claiming his and Steve’s titles, stealing his own team and ethics sure was a low blow. It seemed fine until he was forced to follow a protocol that he had been planning for a while now; to wipe off his memories so the identities of his friends wouldn’t be known to their enemies. It was the least he could do after the war he caused, and the ultimate solution, it had to be that way. Waking up after his ‘memory wipe’ and realising how much he actually forgot was a shock to him, especially when he found out exactly what he did during the war. He could see why, but the fact that everything got so far and so scary in such a little amount of time.. that was still terrifying to him. It took him a long time to piece everything together and to realise why Steve seemed to be distant, which lead him to have more heated arguments with him, trying to both apologise and defend himself. Steve remembered everything in detail when Tony was struggling to remember the looks, the words they exchanged, but he knew that he sought one thing; Steve’s forgiveness. He confessed to him that he couldn’t unsee his mistakes, that he was at his best when he was beside him, and Steve embraced him.

Maybe there was still hope to fix things up, and that’s when he started to see Steve again, have friendly conversations with, spend time together now that Steve wasn’t Cap anymore; Bucky still took over, and despite his protests, Steve insisted. Part of Tony could never see anyone as a replacement of his Captain, even though he learnt to work with Bucky well.

But then, as soon as he announced the future project of Stark Resilient that was back to is feet to rebuild Asgard, she came. The daughter of one of Steve’s mortal enemies, Sin, threatened their world yet again. They couldn’t really catch a break, especially after the Siege of Asgard, but everything seemed to have taken a different turn when Captain America was killed. Tony himself had just come back from Paris and didn’t really take the subject well, but he knew that there was one person sitting in the corner that couldn’t deal with this alone. Steve was deep in thought and Tony approached him, but knew from experience that he wouldn’t take much out of him, and their duty called. He didn’t have time to mourn the loss of his friend again; they had their world to save. Before he could say anything at all, Tony started talking with Steve and Thor, planning yet again and Tony parted ways, requesting help from Odin, but not before seeing his Captain taking the mantle again.

They fought, they managed to win, and Steve rose up to deliver one of his speeches that made him who he was; the Captain America. They would bury their dead and then get back on their feet, be who they always were, the Avengers. They defended the world and put asides their own selves, and they wouldn’t just rebuild Asgard, they would rebuild their team, the world. Tony felt a fiery passion burning inside him when Steve was uttering those words. The soldier knew exactly how to boost up the morale of his troops, and this is why he was their Captain after all.

Despite all, when they were left alone, Tony found the need to go after Steve, have a small talk with him and give him something that belonged to him. The Captain seemed calm, even though Tony could tell that this wasn’t the case. He was biting the inside of his mouth and the genius could see it so clearly.

“Hey”, he simply said as he walked towards him, the round object in his hands covered with a paper bag.

“Aren’t you celebrating with the rest?”, Steve asked as he gave him a look of acknowledgement.

“Celebrate? We both know that this is far from over.. despite your inspiring talk earlier”, Tony replied as he moved the object around his hands. “Anyway.. here, I thought that you might have wanted this back”, he added as he got the shield out of his bag and passed it to Steve, who got it and started to run his fingers across it.

“It’s all reforged now, it’s as good as always, dare to say even better. I played a bit with it, it has uru-infused enchantments so it’s safe to say that it is indeed, stronger. I can take care of that scar if you want me to-“

“No, leave it. It builds character”, Steve replied as he got it properly in his hand, weighing it and swaying it around, satisfied with it. “Thank you, Tony”, he nodded softly.

“You’re welcome, after all, it’s not the first time that I took care of her, right?”, Tony said as he sat down by the nearby workshop bench.

Steve continued to move his shield around in silence, not seeming interested to ask why Tony was still there, causing him to cough and get his attention, and slowly turning to him.

“This is not the only reason why I came here”, Tony said, rubbing the back of his head and feeling Steve’s gaze upon him. “You didn’t really talk about it so I figured out that.. if you want to vent in a way.. feel free to do it”, he finally added, hoping that Steve would get the hint.

Steve looked at him carefully yet again, sighing. He knew exactly what Tony was referring to; Bucky’s death. He just attended the funeral himself, but he knew something, that his friend was indeed alive, something that he wasn’t allowed to let Tony know. Still, he could so visibly tell that the billionaire was concerned and he didn’t just come all the way down here just to hand in his repaired Steve. He wanted to actually talk, something that they did a lot, more frequently back in the day. It took them some time to open up to each other again after everything that they went through.

“I’m fine, Tony..”, he said, giving him one of his strong nods.

Tony met his eyes, part of him knowing that he was bound to put on his strong face and just be the Captain that Tony was so used to in his eyes.

“I know you must be going through a lot and if you just want company or someone to hang out..”, he offered.

Steve huffed slightly, knowing that Tony wouldn’t give up; they both shared that trait, being as stubborn as a mule, but still, Tony was the first one to attempt and console him, which made his heart flutter a bit at the thought of being so privileged.

“I mean it.. it’s fine..”, he said, giving him his usual, strong rub on the shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about me”

Tony looked at the hand on him and then at Steve, swallowing down. Why did he get the same tingling sensation that he did back when he first met Steve? It was strange, why now, why at that very moment?

“I can’t help it..”, he mumbled. “I told you before.. and I do remember this very clearly. I care about you more than you think..”

“I don’t think that this has to do anything with Bucky, Tony..”, Steve said in an attempt to not make the conversation awkward, not sure where Tony was taking it, even though for a strange reason, his own heartbeat started to pick up.

“I know it doesn’t.. I mean, I came to you because I thought that.. Let me start this again, all right?”, Tony huffed, thinking for a while. “I came to give you the shield back and ask if you were all right but since I’m here, I might as well.. Screw this, Steve”, he exclaimed, so annoyed with himself not being able to articulate properly.

Steve could feel his heart being ready to jump out of his chest; the way that Tony acted surely rang a bell, but it couldn’t be that, right? He wasn’t just preparing a confession, him, Tony Stark, his old friend and partner, Iron Man, trying to actually confess that he had feelings for him, right? Not after the war they fought, after all their differences and arguments that they shared.

“Are you trying to confess to me, Tony?”, he asked him quite bluntly, which cause Tony to blink and cough nervously.

“What? No.. I mean.. maybe? I don’t know if it counts as a confession, I guess I can..”, Tony mumbled, mostly thinking out to himself. He was a man of logic and yet, at that very moment, he was ready to do something so spontaneous, surprising himself.

Locking eyes with the man opposite him, Tony walked closer and cupped his cheeks, and before Steve could protest, pushing his lips against his own. It felt strange, but not in a bad way. Steve’s lips were still dry, but they tasted so sweet. What surprised him the most, was the fact that Steve didn’t push him back; he froze in place but after a split second, he kissed him right back, and boy, was he a good kisser. Tony tasted of expensive chapstick, nothing like Sharon did, but yet, he found it strangely nice.

They parted just moments later, and Tony could see with pleasure that Steve’s cheeks were slightly pink, a strand of hair dangling just above his right eyebrow.

“Is that a better confession?”, he asked the soldier, not wanting to rub his lips, still able to taste Steve on them.

“It was.. something.. but I’d rather hear you talking”, Steve said as he pushed back his hair and crossed his arms, unsure on how to act but keeping his calm nevertheless.

“All right.. If I’m being perfectly honest here.. I’ve felt like this for a while”, Tony started, taking a deep breath. “It was mostly confusing, I mean, I didn’t know if I exactly felt the same way about you the way I felt about certain ladies, you know? And every time I thought that I was about to settle down.. something came up, always. After Rumiko, after the war, I thought that it was.. gone, that I couldn’t actually speak up or feel this way about you”

Steve listened to him carefully, piecing up events that happened between them, words that have been spoken, actions that were taken. Coming to think of it, they always hinted that sort of thing to each other; they weren’t just any pair of friends.

“And I mean, I love you as my friend, I really do. My partner, good old Winghead. But maybe deep down there’s something.. more. Something that I may not be able to exactly put in words right now, but I know it’s there. I think I might be in love”, Tony finished, rubbing his carefully trimmed bear at those words that he haven’t uttered in what it seemed ages to him, and he was probably right.

Steve’s eyes widened; those kind of words weren’t carelessly thrown around, or at least weren’t supposed to be, but this was Tony they were talking about. His friend, the one person that gave him a home in this strange world he woke up to. Maybe discovering with him what he really felt about the billionaire wasn’t a bad idea at all, not when that kiss almost lit a fire inside him. That was probably it, he held a torch for that guy right there, with his fancy jacket and beard that has been by his side all those years in this strange second life he was living.

“Now you’re just being sentimental”, Steve finally said as he pulled Tony close for a warm embrace. “I’m not saying that I know what this is.. but we can give it a show together, right, Shellhead?”, he said in a more cheerful tone, breathing out some of the constant worries inside his chest.

And for that moment, Tony didn’t wish for anything else, just to be there, in Steve’s arms, which felt perfect, almost like it was meant to be. Now, he didn’t believe in those tales about fate and destiny, but he could be a real romantic when he least expected it. Some people just had this talent; to make Tony fall for them and just let him be his self around them; from what it seemed, Steve was one of them, if not the one. Yeah, positive, cute thinking, which was exactly what he was used to. Tony snorted at his thoughts and gave Steve a confident smile.

“Together, partner. It’s a promise”


End file.
